Just over three months after Apple launched the iPhone 5 alongside the iOS 6 software update, The Next Web reports that developers have already spotted early traces of the next-generation iPhone and iOS 7 in app usage logs.

One developer showed us that Apple has been testing hardware relating to a new ‘iPhone6,1′ identifier, powered by a device running iOS 7, which is expected to be released by Apple in the middle part of this year.

The unreleased iPhone usage that is showing up in developer logs originates from Apple’s corporate headquarters at One Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. It would appear that Apple software developers are already in the early testing stages to ensure app compatibility with the forthcoming handset.

The report does note that this type of data can easily be faked, but adds that the unique IP address footprint originating from Apple’s Cupertino campus appears to be legitimate. Moreover, references to new products and software versions that have surfaced in the past have usually always materialized.

Details about iOS 7 remain scarce, although multiple sources believe that Apple began working on the software update in late 2012. Apple could unveil iOS 7 at WWDC 2013 next June, if it sticks to its traditional iOS release cycle, but it’s hard to say at this point.

There is a lot of anticipation for the iOS 7 software update, especially with former iOS head Scott Forstall having recently been ousted from Apple. iOS 6 was not a particularly exciting update, but many believe that the departure of Forstall, coupled with designer Jonathan Ive gaining more influence over iOS, should make iOS 7 a worthwhile update.